Coming full circle

APPLE VALLEY — Two years ago Mary Covarrubias was happy to be celebrating her 20-year anniversary of being cancer-free when she received news that the cancer had returned in her breast.

"My son was deployed to Singapore and I had to call him and give him the bad news there," said Covarrubias.

Being a single mother she was always close to her two children, Jeff and Tina Castlebury.

It is during this challenging time, with her children so far away, she discovered a new sense of purpose through the Soroptimist International of Apple Valley.

Covarrubias is now cancer-free and says her biggest supporters have been her children and the organization.

"Soroptimists are all about helping other people," Covarrubias said. "They have helped me tremendously and I have always had a heart to give back to others. This is one way for me to do that."

Covarrubias felt so connected to the service club that she decided to join the organization and give back to the community as the Soroptimists gave to her.

She is proud of the group's work with A Better Way domestic violence shelter.

As a single-mother who has had some exposure to emotional abuse in the past, she felt a bit of a kinship to the survivors.

"I have been through a lot in my life for a reason, and that reason is for me to try to help others," Covarrubias said.

Her life came full circle last Christmas when she created more than 30 candy trains for children staying at the shelter during the holidays.

Members of the Soroptimist, including her friend Linda Cassidy, gave Covarrubias and her family moral support, as well as some financial support.

"She needed a lot of friendship and we were able to provide that," Cassidy said.

The one act that sticks out the most in Covarrubias' mind occurred on Christmas of 2006 when the club members brought a tree and set it up in her rented bedroom right after she had to undergo surgery to remove both breasts.

"It was the most beautiful tree I had seen. I still decorate it to this day with the same ornaments they brought," she said.

Covarrubias' ability to come back from her disease and struggles to become a woman who can give back is wonderful, said Cassidy.

Beatriz E. Valenzuela can be reached at 951-6222 or at bvalenzuela@vvdailypress.com.